Tag: Jason Kidd

Parker showcases his growth vs. his double

Column by Buck Harvey

Tony Parker isn’t there yet. He still needs to go to Utah, and maybe to Oklahoma City and Miami, and continue to see the game as clearly as he has.

But he’s close, and Sunday outlined how far he’s come.

There was a time, after all, when Parker and Devin Harris were supposed to be at about the same place.

Now they are back at a familiar one, the playoffs. The last time, in 2006, Harris’ Mavericks eliminated the Spurs in seven games.

Harris smiles at the memories, and he should. “I’ve always played well against the Spurs,” he said.

He did in Game 2 of that series. Thrust into the starting lineup, he outscored Parker and averaged over 20 points when Dallas won three consecutive games.

Parker had his moments, too. He scored more than 24 points three times despite a sore thigh.

Still, he also had only 22 assists over the entire seven games, and this is why it’s always been tricky to measure Parker. His success seems to make his flaws more glaring.

Even when he was a teenage starter, even when he earned All-Star berths, the holes in his game were clear. He was shaky just a year ago, too, in the first-round loss to Memphis.

But he keeps taking steps, and he admitted to one Sunday. Last summer, he said, Gregg Popovich told him he had played harder for the French national team than he had against the Grizzlies.

Parker reacted as he has for a career, finding another way to get better. Harris is unsure if that is true, wondering if the team around Parker is what changed.

But one scout said this Sunday: He can’t remember anyone getting better, year after year, until reaching such a high level when nearly 30 years old.

The game has slowed for Parker now, even as he speeds past defenders. He sees the floor and what should come next, and he did that Sunday afternoon.

He took an inadvertent blow from Harris, then got back up to score 28 points. Parker was relentless, taking advantage of the space his shooters provided, and it was reflective of his season.

When the crowd chanted “MVP, MVP,” it was justified. Parker should finish in the top five, if not top three.

Harris once had the same promise. He was about Parker’s size and his double in quickness. The Spurs saw all of this early; he once scored 20 points in a fourth quarter against them.

Better yet, he could defend Parker. In Game 2 of that 2006 series, Parker had more turnovers (4) than assists (1) and was outscored by Harris.

Little wonder, when the Mavericks eventually traded Harris out of the Western Conference, Parker was relieved. “I’m really happy for that trade,” he said.

The real compliment was the trade itself. There were other pieces involved but, essentially, Harris had gone for Jason Kidd.

Most in the basketball world thought Mark Cuban was crazier than usual for agreeing to the deal. Wasn’t Kidd aging and Harris just beginning?

What has happened since says something else. Kidd helped win a title, and Harris’ career has flatlined. He starred initially with freedom in New Jersey, making an All-Star team once, but he hasn’t come close to what Parker is.

Maybe, as he says about Parker, the makeup of his team has changed him. But another scout questions whether the commitment has been there.

Parker agrees to none of this. He said Sunday that Harris is “the key to their team. He makes them go … I know he’s going to bounce back.”

But that’s the Parker who is almost there. He knows a series can change and that there will be adjustments. And that there’s always another step to take.

bharvey@express-news.net
Twitter: @Buck_SA

What the Spurs and Mavs said after Thursday’s game

The Spurs media service people were ready with their tape recorders after the Spurs’ victory over Dallas Thursday night.

Here’s a collection of comments from the Mavericks and the Spurs.

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich:

(Opening statement)

“They (the Mavericks) were four in five nights, we were three in four nights and neither team was very sharp.  We happened to shoot well.  We’re thrilled to have the win; we’re not going to give it away.  Our guys played hard and we ended up with a good win. But both teams have a long way to go.”

(When asked if he had a good look at some of his players tonight)

“I thought T.J. (Ford) was great.  T.J. was really good again.  He was aggressive and energetic.  He did a real fine job for us.”

(Comments on the job DeJuan Blair did on Dirk Nowitzki tonight)

“That’s a big challenge. You didn’t see the real Dirk (Nowitzki) tonight, that’s for sure.  As the season wears on, all the teams will get into better shape and get sharper and look better.  DeJuan is working hard at it and it’s an education no matter what the situation is to guard Dirk Nowitzki.”

(When asked if he liked what he got from Richard Jefferson on both ends of the court)

“I think Richard (Jefferson) was more aggressively minded tonight.  We know he can shoot the basketball.  I thought he was better at going to the board and getting down on defense all those sorts of things; that’s good to see.”

Spurs guard T.J Ford

(Was this a lockout game…)

“No, today I thought we were mentally tough coming in on a back-to-back against the defending champions. Our starters did a great job, they came out and set the tempo and carried us the whole game.”

(On winning back-to-backs…)

“We’ve got to dig deep. This season is about mental toughness. How can we prevail with mental toughness. It’s only going to get tougher. We have a lot of games this month. Tonight was a good test. We got to get ready for an up-tempo game against Denver with a lot of athletes, a lot of young kids and a lot of speed. They’re playing well. It’s going to be a tough stretch. We got one day to rest up and then prepare for them and get to playing again.”

(On playing with the second unit…)

“We know all the plays but for me, it depends the on the flow of the game. The coaches do a good job of helping me when we need to run a set. For the most part, we try to create our offense through our defense and get out and get easy buckets.  We just run the motion offense and there are so many options with our early offense, everyone has an equal opportunity and that’s a good thing about it.”

Spurs forward Matt Bonner

(On hitting 3-pointers …)

“They felt the same. Just open shots and taking them like I have been all year. Tonight they were going in, which is a good thing. Just going to stick with the process and hope I can keep shooting like I did tonight.”

(On grinding the game out…)

“We were both coming off back-to-backs, they had to travel, but we had the homecourt advantage and tried to come out with energy and use to get us going. We made a lot threes in the first half and it got contagious. We did it with defense in the second half, because we didn’t shoot to well in the third quarter.”

Spurs forward Tim Duncan

(On winning in ugly fashion..)..

“Its kind of a change, we’ve had guys like Monta and K-Love come out and really light us up in the last couple games, the ones that we’ve lost. It was great to come out tonight where somebody didn’t make every shot out there. It was great to win. We did enough early on to get a lead and kind of put the pressure on them and they weren’t able to get back in to it.”

Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle:

(Was it just one of those nights where everything just went wrong for you?)

“San Antonio’s energy was better to start the game and in the first half and that was the difference in the game. We struggled, but their competitive level was higher and really the decisive part was the first half. We responded much better in the second half. We won the second half and that’s a positive, if you’re looking for positives. It’s a hit-first league, they hit us first, and we didn’t respond well enough in the second half.”

(on the Spurs 3-point shooting)

“Their shot making was there and we struggled all night with ours. You got to give them credit. They throw in sixteen threes and that’s shooting the heck out of it. Some of that is obviously we made some mistakes, but they put us in those positions so you give them credit.”

 (on the Spurs hitting three field goals in the 3rd quarter, but still up by 24.)

“I’m looking at that saying our defense is finally looking like it should. It’s a tough loss, it’s disappointing, and I don’t know if there is a lot of analysis beyond that. We got our butts kicked. That’s alright, we will take it like men and get ready for the next one.”

(on Jason Kidd’s back.)

“Lower back injury, we will evaluate it tomorrow, the next day, and see where we are.”

Mavericks guard Jason Terry:

(on tonight’s game and what happened to his team)

“They came out early and ran at us as we couldn’t recover from it. In the third quarter we did a better job but it was tough when you’re playing on the road in a tough environment. They came out and made shots early and it gives them a lot of confidence. There were guys tonight making shots that wouldn’t ordinarily make those shots.” 

(on the Mavericks poor shooting tonight)

“It was tough. When they’re making shots and we’re not, it’s going to be a long ball game for us. Again, we’re a team that prides ourselves on getting stops defensively and making them pay on the offensive end. That didn’t happen tonight.”

(on if tonight was a lack of shot or the influence of the Spurs)

“Well again, defensively we didn’t get the stops we wanted early and offensively we definitely didn’t make the shots that we wanted. Anytime you do that it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you’re not going to win, especially when you’re playing a tough San Antonio Spurs team.”

Mavericks forward Shawn Marion:

(On his team lacking momentum tonight against the Spurs)

“They came out aggressive as they hit their first seven shots, as most of those were threes. When you play a team that hot, we were able to finally slow them down. They came out playing with some high energy and hitting some shots but for the most part I think we were trying to get some stops. Together we weren’t able to capitalize on the stops as for us it seemed like the basket got smaller tonight. It was a rough stretch for us as it’s hard for us. This is our sixth game in eight days so that was tough stretch for us. Once we get down in the hole like that it’s too hard to pick yourself back up when you’ve been playing that much. At the same time, it is what it is, they struck first and they were able to pull out a good win.”

(On the toll of playing these six games)

“My body feels O.K. besides me feeling under the weather and my broken left finger. For the most part I’m cool as I’m just trying to do what I can to help the team by being effective.”

(On if comprised NBA schedule will lead to cold and hot streaks)

“Yeah, definitely as you’ve seen some already. There are going to be some games that don’t go our fans way. There is going to be some nights where it is just not going to go in, but it is what it is. We just have to stay out there and get better.”

Game rewind: No style points, but it’s still a win over Dallas

It might have been ugly only in the eye of the beholder.

The Spurs’ 93-71 victory over Dallas Thursday night showed post-lockout basketball at its very worst.

But even with the offensive challenges for both teams, the Spurs claimed their fifth straight home victory as they endured their first three-games-in-four-night stretch of the season.

Here’s how they did it. 

Game analysis: It was an understandable result in a game where the Spurs utilized one of their best 3-point shooting games in team history against one of Dallas’ worst. Throw in 10 Dallas turnovers before San Antonio’s first miscue and a blowout might have been expected.

Where the game was won:  The Spurs jumped on Dallas early, scoring on a 3-pointer by Gary Neal on their first possession and never trailing. In the first five minutes, they hit Dallas with a 19-4 run keyed by three 3-pointers and never looked back.

Player of the game I: Matt Bonner went for 17 points, including five 3-pointers  in his best shooting game of the season.

Player of the game II: Richard Jefferson was efficient in many areas Thursday night. Not only did he continue his recent scoring binge with 16 points, but he also provided some tough rebounding and even a couple of notable defensive plays.

Player of the game III: Danny Green wasn’t hesistant to look for his shot as he scored eight points in 24 minutes. He again was an active on defense and was Popovich’s first substitute, gaining his trust to play a lot of early minutes.

Most unsung: Gary Neal. Without Manu Ginobili in the lineup,  the Spurs needed somebody to step up. Neal did it quickly with three 3-pointers in less than six minutes. The game was effectively over by the time he left the lineup for the first time.

Did you notice: Play was stopped in the third period when referees noticed that a fan was shining a laser light at players on the court. After the perpetrator was found, the game continued.

Stat of the game: The Spurs hit 16 3-pointers and Dallas had one.

Stat of the game II: Before Jason Terry’s 3-pointer late in the third quarter, the Mavericks missed their first 13 3-pointers.

Stat of the game III: For the first time since 2007-08, the Spurs have won their first five home games of the season.

Weird stat of the game: The Spurs shot 34.0 percent of their shots inside the 3-point arc against Dallas and 48.5 percent of their attempts outside of it.

Weird stat of the game II: According to Basketball-Reference.com, the Spurs became only the 16th team since 1985 to win a game by at least 22 points when shooting less than 40 percent from the field. San Antonio finished at 39.5 percent.

Quote of the game: ”You didn’t see the real Dirk Nowitzki tonight, that’s for sure,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, commenting on Nowitzki six points on 3-for-11 shooting in 24 minutes. It was the first time that Nowitzki had scored six points or less in a game  with at least 20 minutes since a playoff loss to Portland on May 2, 2003. 

How the schedule stacks up: The schedule can be blamed for the struggles by both teams Thursday night. Both teams were playing on the second night of a back-to-back. The Spurs are in the middle of a run of four games in five nights. Dallas was playing its fourth game in five nights and will finish a stretch of five games in seven games with a home game against New Orleans Saturday night.

Injuries: Ginobili missed his second game after undergoing surgery earlier in the day for a fractured fifth left metacarpal. Dallas guard Jason Kidd suffered a lower back injury in the final minute of the first quarter and did not return. Kidd failed to score in 11:32 of game action.